The present invention relates to an improved silk screen frame, and more particularly, this invention relates to a retensionable screen frame that permits the user to quickly and easily substitute one screen for another, and properly tension each screen for effective, high-quality printing.
Serigraphy, more commonly known as screen printing, is one of the most common and versatile printing processes in use today. Screen printing can be applied to a wide variety of surfaces including paper, cardboard, glass, wood, plastic, posters, bottles, electronic circuits, etc., and to an equally wide variety of shapes.
The screen printing process consists generally of forcing an ink, by pressure applied via a squeegee, through the mesh of a screen stretched on a frame and onto the object to which the desired image is intended to be transferred.
It is generally accepted in the screen-printing trade that the quality of a printed image is directly related to the tension of the printing screen. Particularly when printing detailed designs or multicolored images, it is imperative that the printing screen be secured in a very taut condition in order to ensure that the fine details or multitude of colors are accurately transferred onto the intended object.
Because a particular screen pattern may be in demand for an extended period of time, the printer may desire to store the screen so that the same pattern may be reproduced at some future time without the necessity of replacing the printing screen. Historically, the difficulty with removing and replacing the stretched screen meant that the screen was stored on the frame in a stretched condition. Storing the screen in this manner not only necessitated the need for an inventory of frames, but also increased the problem associated with the deterioration of the image produced by the screen, since screens under tension tend to relax somewhat with time.
Moreover, because the desired image may require the use of a number of different screens, an inventory of screens is needed unless the printer can quickly and easily substitute one screen for another in the particular frame.
To this end, a wide variety of solutions have been formulated and are generally represented throughout the prior art as adjustable tension silk screen frames employing floating bars or tension rollers that may be adjusted in some manner to exert a greater force on the silk screen secured thereto.
Heretofore invented and disclosed herein is an improved silk screen frame for tensioning a panel of screen material and for providing a means of quickly and easily integrating a screen panel with the frame or removing the panel therefrom.
The improved frame of the present invention employs two rotatable members adapted to grip a longitudinal strip to which is secured the screen panel material. The rotatable members are designed to exert a rotational force on the longitudinal strips in an off-center position relative to the member""s axis of rotation. Rotation of the screen tensioning members in turn imparts a force on the attached screen panel material such that the material is stretched in a taut condition for effective use in the printing process. The rotated screen tensioning members are held in their rotated position by a locking mechanism that may be engaged or disengaged with the operator""s fingers.
Other objects, advantages, and features of the present invention will be apparent to the reader from the foregoing and the appended claims, and as the ensuing detailed description and discussion of the invention proceeds in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.